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There are countless opportunities to tour companies in one’s interested field before you graduate. Touring a company allows you to learn more about yourself and what you want to pursue in the future. Rachel Vick had the chance to tour Weber Shandwick in Bloomington for Pro-Am Day. The more you choose to tour, the more you grow as a person.

Public Relations Student Society of America (or PRSSA) is a national organization and network of more than 11,000 students devoted to professional development and the public relations industry. As a PRSSA member, I have so many opportunities to enhance my career. One of these opportunities is sponsored by Minnesota’s chapter of PRSA: Pro-Am Day.

Pro-Am Day (Professional-Amateur Day) is a program that sets people up with PR professionals in the Twin Cities from either an agency, corporation or nonprofit. For one day, students shadow their given professional and talk to them about their career in public relations.

Personally, I’m most interested in agency life, so I was placed at Weber Shandwick in Bloomington. Weber Shandwick is a global agency that specializes in research, reputation management, engagement and more. They work on clients in agribusiness, consumer, financial, healthcare, multicultural and sports. I was lucky enough to be paired with the Senior Vice President of Financial Services, Brooke Worden.

It was an incredible day. While listening to Brooke talk about her work, I could feel my insides screaming with excitement. She showed me some of the projects she’d been working on, some of the social tactics they’ve been using and even asked for my opinion on some campaigns! After lunch and a tour of Weber, I was able to sit in on a client call with her.

The main thing I learned from Pro-Am Day was that the PR field will never be the same. Everyday will bring something new to the table; you can’t go into the day expecting everything to go as planned. You also must stay up to date on trends to keep your clients happy. There has never been a more exciting time to be in the communications field; it’s an ever-changing industry with a need for more young professionals.

I love this field and agency life because you get to wear a lot of hats. I’m excited to launch my career and I couldn’t have made it this far without the support and opportunities PRSSA and PRSA offer!